SEPIA SAT Post
( I didnt have time this week to work on the theme, but as usual I have more found photos to share with everyone!)

These were part of an album but were stripped out and sold separately, I could not afford to buy the actual photo album but jotted down notes inside of it to put with the photos that were sold individually and the first page was included with all the photos from the album (yes this makes me sad when sellers break things apart like this and sell them one by one, it makes my heart sink)

The first two photos were unmarked but look to me to be a young Zelah and Celia, if you compare with the later photos of them. They are enclosed in cardboard sleeves and are CDV size it appears.

From Find a Grave and Census records Ive combined the following info…
Father – Zelah J. Wesley Farmer – Born July 1860, Died 1936 in California
Mother – Celia Laura (Vaughn maiden name) Born March 11, 1858, Died may 18, 1927 Upland, Ca

Married April 13, 1882 in Belleville, St. Clair Co., Illinois.

I can find Celia as the daughter of William Vaughn who was a Fisherman in Illinois and there is a CDV photo labeled “WM Vaughn” in this batch. She also had a bother named Dave William Vaughn so this could be him also.

Found this mention of the Rev here

“In 1900, many families moved from Kentucky to New Baden and organized the first Protestant church in town. Services were held in the old school house known as Port Arthur, which at that time was located next to the cemetery on East Hanover Street. Rev. Zelah FARMER was the Pastor”http://clintonilgenweb.net/churches/nbumc/history.php

These photos are labeled as such on the back
Photographer “C.H. Shields, Greenville, Ill” “Rev. Zelah Wesley Farmer, Celia, Children L-R Albin, Loy and Roy” the info about the family was jotted in the album but I copied this info and attached it with a post it to the back. I know some of the spellings may be a little off but I wrote them down as they were put in the album.

In this photo below we have Albin, Lela and Aleda Farmer taken by “W.G. Neely, Mulberry Grove, Ill”

I have more photos in this batch, many of the children, and perhaps some other relatives.

Wish I could find more info on the Reverend, not too much out there on google that I can find, and I wonder if he had a church when he came to California, the city that it shows them in around their death is where my big sister lives and a really nice place. Their gravestones are there so perhaps I can make a trip and go visit their graves, its about an hour and a half from me.

Hope some relatives comes along at some point to help add some more commentary.

14 responses to “Reverend Zelah and Celia Farmer – Illinois”

You really did ‘save the photos’! I think you’re right about the first portraits being the young couple. Some of their ofsfpring died quite young, though one lived well into old age. I like the last one of the three girls.

well, if some folks break things apart to make a buck, you bring it all together [virtually] again. interesting journey and i’m hoping that indeed, some relatives will find this and comment; plus that your research will yield more results!!
:)~
HUGZ

It is horrible to think that the pages were taken out of the album and then sold individually. How very sad to break up the family, so to speak, when someone took the time to put them all together! It would be like selling off the various blog posts we all make with no context as to what ties them together. Good job at saving what you could!